Archive of sewing machine order correspondence.
Singer Manufacturing Company.
Archive of sewing machine order correspondence.
Various places, 1867-1877
More than 1200 items (0.9 linear feet); most formerly tipped in to albums, generally moderate wear, some with tape repairs.
Isaac M. Singer began manufacturing sewing machines in 1851, and by the time it became the Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865, they were the largest company of its kind in the world, with a factory in Elizabeth, NJ. In 1876, they boasted of selling their two millionth sewing machine. Offered here is an extensive file of company correspondence and invoices, showing its reach to customers across the nation and beyond. We find correspondence here from Alabama, Detroit, Ontario, and Brazil.
The correspondence generally takes the form of orders for sewing machines or parts, often on Singer order letterhead. Each letter is generally marked or stamped with date of receipt, and additionally marked with account codes. Some of the orders are from regional offices, agents or retailers; others are for home consumer use. Some letters provide insight into the way Singer machines were marketed and used. For example:
J.C.M. Bogle wrote from Maryville, TN in 1867: "There is one of your machines in our town which has given the owner satisfaction, but she has broken or lost all of her needles & cannot get any more here or at Knoxville. Upon what terms will you give me an agency? . . . I do not know of any agency you have in E. Tenn."
A Pittsburgh agent urges the company in 1869: "Have your factory people try the hemmers on bias felling. They test them only on straight work & as bias work comprises nine tenths of all that is done, you will perceive the necessity of having them right."
A customer in Harrisburg, PA wrote in 1869: "Enclosed we send you a hemmer which is an old favorite. Please have a new tongue put in , & give it as near as possible the same twist as the old one. That hemmer will work in almost any machine & hem anything from fine mull to cloth."
Singer Manufacturing Company.
Archive of sewing machine order correspondence.
Various places, 1867-1877
More than 1200 items (0.9 linear feet); most formerly tipped in to albums, generally moderate wear, some with tape repairs.
Isaac M. Singer began manufacturing sewing machines in 1851, and by the time it became the Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865, they were the largest company of its kind in the world, with a factory in Elizabeth, NJ. In 1876, they boasted of selling their two millionth sewing machine. Offered here is an extensive file of company correspondence and invoices, showing its reach to customers across the nation and beyond. We find correspondence here from Alabama, Detroit, Ontario, and Brazil.
The correspondence generally takes the form of orders for sewing machines or parts, often on Singer order letterhead. Each letter is generally marked or stamped with date of receipt, and additionally marked with account codes. Some of the orders are from regional offices, agents or retailers; others are for home consumer use. Some letters provide insight into the way Singer machines were marketed and used. For example:
J.C.M. Bogle wrote from Maryville, TN in 1867: "There is one of your machines in our town which has given the owner satisfaction, but she has broken or lost all of her needles & cannot get any more here or at Knoxville. Upon what terms will you give me an agency? . . . I do not know of any agency you have in E. Tenn."
A Pittsburgh agent urges the company in 1869: "Have your factory people try the hemmers on bias felling. They test them only on straight work & as bias work comprises nine tenths of all that is done, you will perceive the necessity of having them right."
A customer in Harrisburg, PA wrote in 1869: "Enclosed we send you a hemmer which is an old favorite. Please have a new tongue put in , & give it as near as possible the same twist as the old one. That hemmer will work in almost any machine & hem anything from fine mull to cloth."
